1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to monitoring the locations of a group of users, and more particularly, to an improved solution for managing location information for the group of users.
2. Related Art
Frequently, when a group of individuals visit a relatively large location, such as an amusement park, a business convention, a shopping mall, or the like, the group will split up and move about the location according to each individual's particular interests. As a result, the group will often set a predetermined time and/or location at which to meet. However, often, one or more members of the group may not arrive at the location and the group must spend time and effort in locating these individuals.
To locate an individual, a mobile telephone can be used to talk to the individual and determine his/her location. However, in order to change a rendezvous time and/or location for the entire group, a telephone call will be required for each individual in the group. When use of a mobile telephone is not available/desired, a radio frequency identification (RFID) device can be used to locate an individual. For example, a family can rent an RFID device from an amusement park and pin it to a child. When the child is lost, detection of the RFID device at one or more RFID hot spots located in the amusement park can be enabled. Once the RFID device is detected, the parent(s) can be notified, and the area searched for the child.
These solutions have several limitations. For example, there is no ability for one member of the group (e.g., a group leader) to easily monitor the location of the other members of the group and/or members of the group to determine the location of the group leader. Further, when two-way communication is possible, it is limited to two group members and each individual will need to describe his/her location, which may be difficult in an unfamiliar environment. As a result, these solutions fail to provide a comprehensive solution for determining when a member of the group moves beyond an allowed area and/or for changing a rendezvous location. As the size of a group increases (e.g., a tour group), the effort required to locate one or more missing group members and/or change a pre-determined arrangement increases substantially. As a result, the group leader may not make any effort to locate missing member(s) and/or change the arrangement.
In light of the above, a need exists for an improved solution for managing location information for a group of users.